The invention relates to a needle insertion device with a needle protection device especially for surgical use.
Needle inserters are auxiliary devices used especially in surgery procedures to insert a needle into a suturing device including endoscopic suturing devices as well as conventional suturing devices used in open surgery. The insertion of a needle into a suturing device, however, is problematic since the needle is so short that it cannot be guided accurately by hand. In suturing devices with two jaws (see for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,690,652), wherein the needle must be passed back and forth between the jaws, it must be originally accurately inserted into the needle holder of one of the two jaws.
Basically, there are two ways to solve this problem:
First, the needle could be taken out of a needle magazine and supplied to a grasping device by which the needle is then installed in the suturing instrument. In this case, the grasping device would be a re-useable device.
Second, the needle installation device is provided with a needle and is mounted for direct installation of the needle. After installation of the needle in the suturing instrument, the installation device is removed and discarded. It is not used again. Consequently, it must be inexpensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,181 discloses a needle insertion device with which a needle can be inserted into at least one branch of a pair of branches of a surgical suturing apparatus. The device comprises a body which supports the needle which is removably mounted therein. The body is so shaped that it can be placed at least on one of the two branches of the suturing apparatus in order to insert the needle.
It is the object of the present invention to provide a needle insertion device with which surgical needles, which are small and which cannot easily be handled, can be safely and reliably inserted into a surgical suturing instrument. The person attending to the procedure should be safe from piercing and scratching injuries by the needle when installing the needle.